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  • WTO Worried About Nigeria’s Exchange Rate Regime, Says Okonjo-Iweala

    WTO Worried About Nigeria’s Exchange Rate Regime, Says Okonjo-Iweala

     

    The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says the world trade body is worried about Nigeria’s multiple exchange rate regime and how it affects international trade.

     

    While responding to questions from journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Monday, the former finance minister said some member states of the WTO have complained about Nigeria’s invoking the balance of payment agreement to make to be able to conserve foreign exchange.

     

    “WTO has one of the agreements of balance of payments, and Nigeria certainly invoked this to be able to conserve foreign exchange. But some other members have brought a complaint against us (Nigeria) that we shouldn’t have used this article in that way,” she said.

     

    “Yes, the WTO is concerned about foreign exchange, the way we manage it, the way we use it, and how we use it to support manufacturing or imports and exports in our economy.”

     

    Okonjo-Iweala said she will meet with Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to further discuss the situation.

     

    “I think that we had that discussion with them, they complaints about the exchange rate regime and we (Nigeria) try to explain.

     

    “I shouldn’t say we because I’m now DG WTO, it is for Nigeria’s representative to explain to the WTO, to those members complaining why we’re doing this.

     

    “But eventually, I think having a strong exchange rate and being able to phase out of this, I think we’ll be heading in that direction. We’re also going to see the governor of the central bank, and will undoubtedly discuss some of these issues.”

     

    Commenting on the non-functioning WTO’s dispute settlement system, Okonjo- Iweala said there would be discussions with all members including the United States on how to make it work again.

     

    She said this was because the rules-based organisation could not continue to make rules without its dispute settlement system operating effectively.

     

    On COVID-19, the DG said the trade organisation would contribute more to the solutions of vaccines therapeutics and diagnostics, especially to poor countries.

     

    She advised the Nigerian government to establish local vaccine manufacturing companies as the coronavirus pandemic will not be the last.

     

  • How Nigeria Can Benefit From Okonjo-Iweala-Led WTO – LCCI

    How Nigeria Can Benefit From Okonjo-Iweala-Led WTO – LCCI

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has highlighted steps Nigeria needs to take in order to fully take advantage of the opportunities offered by the World Trade Organisation under the leadership of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

     

    The LCCI, in a statement on Monday, felicitated with Nigeria on the appointment of Okonjo-Iweala as the Director-General of WTO.

     

    The Director-General, LCCI, Dr Muda Yusuf, said, “While the emergence of Dr Okonjo-Iweala as the new WTO Director-General is very gratifying and calls for celebration, there is a need to manage expectations around the outcomes for the Nigerian economy, given the numerous productivity and competitiveness issues the country is grappling with.

     

    “Ultimately, these are the factors that would determine the benefits that would accrue to the economy from global trade.”

     

    According to him, Nigeria needs to build capacity for international competitiveness of its products and services so as to benefit from the WTO.

     

    He said, “Also imperative is the need to address trade facilitation issues, especially around port processes, ports infrastructures, international trade documentation, foreign exchange policies, trade policies and industrial policies. We need to promote local value addition and backward integration to strengthen competitiveness of our domestic industries.

     

    “We must undertake reforms of our tariff policy in accordance with the principles of comparative advantage, which would enable the country to optimise opportunities in the global trade arena and enhance the citizens’ welfare.”

     

    According to Yusuf, it is critical to develop an African Continental Free Trade Area strategy that would enable the country to leverage trade opportunities both continentally and globally.

     

    “There is a need to improve on our strategy in managing the coronavirus pandemic ranging from ensuring compliance to safety protocols to vaccine procurement and distribution,” he said.

     

    The LCCI DG said Okonjo-Iweala’s emergence came at a time when the global trading system was faced with numerous challenges, including supply chain disruptions precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic, rising protectionism and unilateralism, growing economic nationalism, and imposition of trade restrictions covering substantial amount of international trade, among others.

     

    “Africa has peculiar challenges in the global trade arena. The continent is deeply integrated into the global supply chain and this underscores the low participation level of African economies in international trade,” he said.

     

    According to him, it is very pertinent for African economies to build capacity within the continent in order to take advantage of the opportunities in global trade.